Savior
by The-Young-Volcano O.o
Summary: When the Council learns of a group of six teenagers around the world who play a certain game, giving them information about how the Balance works, they send two of the legendary Four, Death and Strife, to take them from their homes and to leave the Third Kingdom.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! I introduce my very first non-crossover Fanfic. I am sorry if this chapter seems slightly boring, but it is information that I needed to get in. I promise that Death and Strife will be in the next chapter! XD I welcome any form of criticism, even if you just want to point out a random spelling/grammar error. It's all good, for I do that as well.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Darksiders, (though how I wish I did! XD) and I don't own any of the song lyrics that I post, nor the band names I reference. :)

_"I never meant to be the one, who kept you from the dark  
but now I know my wounds are sewn, because of who you are.  
I will take this burden on and become the holy one  
but remember I am human, and I'm bound to sing this song._

So hear my voice, remind you not to bleed.  
I am here,

A savior, will be there, when you are feeling alone, oh  
A savior, for all that you do, you can live freely without their harm…"  


**X-**

The lyrics ring in my ears as loud as I could get them to through my headphones as I block out the world around me. I cherish the words dearly, though in my reality, they were useless lies. I didn't mind though; music, writing, and video games were the only thing now keeping me sane. I sat my head down against the bus seat in front of me, looking down at my journal that sat on my lap, looking at the small neat handwriting on the pages. I twirl the pen through my fingers and sigh. The bus hit a speed bump, making me flinch and the people around me laugh so loudly that I could still hear it through my headphones. I just roll my eyes in an attempt to ignore them. Out the window I see a building with the sign, "Hopkins High School" printed in bold, bland letters.

_Welcome to hell,_ I think nonchalantly. The bus stops and everyone stands up in unison besides me. I wait until everyone is off. A different person on the bus that I knew and hated went out of his way to move into my seat and knock my journal onto the wet bus floor.

"Oops." He sneers through his teeth with a twisted grin, standing up and following the rest of the people off of the bus. I glare at him through the corner of my eye until he stepped off the bus. That's when I lean down to pick it up, walking off of the bus as I tried to dry it off.

I was hit with a wave of frigid air as soon as I stepped out. With a long sigh, I begin walking up to the school's double doors, a loud crunch every time my boots make contact with the snow. I hold the journal close to my chest along with my school laptop as I push the door open. Once inside, I almost immediately slip on the wet floors. Chuckles emerge through the hallways, belonging to a few freshman who are huddling around their lockers. I just sigh and stand up.

"Just keep walking." I mutter under my breath, walking past the group of popular girls and putting my headphones back on. I twist through long, endless hallways until finally reaching the lockers of all the Seniors. It was lodged in between two idiots, of course. I shove past them and begin twisting the dial. The two gaze at me with pure hate until I finally open my locker, which the one on my left shuts immediately. The other laughs and they walk away. I grit my teeth and open it again. Due to the force of the person slamming it closed, I was greeted with an avalanche of books and binders. I was knocked to my knees, and the loud crashes make everyone in the hallway fall silent and look at me. I curse under my breath and begin setting the books back on the shelves. Awkwardly, people return to their conversations, which the subject now being me.

The last book that had fallen I kept in my hands and gazed at the cover. It was a walkthrough book on a brand new video game that my father had produced. No one except me and one other that I knew in London actually played it, for it was a very insignificant company and had very few people who took interest in it. I am the biggest fan of the game, and cherish this book greatly.

Darksiders II was the name of it, and on the front cover was Death. I smile and my cheeks flush red at the sight of him. The first game was also very small, played by very few people, and when the second came out it was if no one knew it existed.

Besides me and my only friend, of course.

As I gaze at the front cover, smiling at the sight of my idol, I feel hands grip my shoulders. "Strife's better, Peach!" I heard Veil, my best friend, yell behind me. I flinch and spin around, her bright red hair basically blinding me as she came into my sights. Peach is my name, in her book at least. In reality, my name is Zeda, a name that I've come to loathe slightly.

"Yeah… no," I reply with a loud laugh. "Death is much better."

"…Strife." She blankly says, putting both of her hands on my right shoulder as I turn back to my locker, shoving the book inside and grabbing my gym bag and slamming the door shut. Veil and I walked through the hallways with our journals close to out chests. Every morning, I would acknowledge the fact that we stick out like a sore thumb around here. The rest of the girls in our class were all the same; all of them showed as much skin as they possibly could with the intention of interesting one of the guys.

Veil and I, we always wear black long sleeve band tee shirts and jeans, nothing more, even in the summer. We always find it comical, laugh at the idiots around us as an escape from our horrible lives. Veil, the gentle and caring person she is, has things going on in her life that make me cringe upon hearing, though she still manages to keep a smile on her face ninety-five percent of the time. It makes me feel useless, but I know that one of these days I'm going to break us out of this reality. We were Seniors in high school, which meant only a few more months until we were free. If only I could change it sooner…

"Death." I finally reply.

"Strife."

"Death!"

This could go on for hours, and probably already has. It was cut off short, for we had reached the gym. We had the class on the same day, though with different teachers, so we weren't able to talk to each other. I left for the locker room and she went in the opposite direction. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with a piece of crumpled paper hitting my forehead. I caught it on its way down and began unraveling it as I walked into a bathroom stall. The piece of paper read in bold letters, "Die". I just laughed and threw it over the stall door, most likely hitting someone.

I changed into black sweatpants and a 'Breaking Benjamin' tee shirt. Awkwardly, I step out of the stall and flinch as the bell rings. People around me laugh and trample me to the ground in an attempt to get out of the door. I hit my head hard against the tile floor; not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to keep me dazed for a moment. When everyone is gone, I wobble out of the room, forgetting the one thing that I would need the most in the future.

We are forced to run the second I step out of the school building and into the freezing cold. This was always the worst part. Because I'm late for the class, my damned gym teacher forces me to run twice as much as the others. I finished a lap around the feild, and immediately can't breathe. The teacher yells for me to keep going. Two laps. Three, four, five, six. Finally he let me stop. I collapse.

"Get up." He snaps at me, despite the obvious fact that I am literally dying at the moment. I shake my head and grip my throat. He hoists me up by my forearm as the rest of the people in my class begin to form a circle around us. I choke out as many breaths I can. "You're a _slacker, _kid." He growls, and continues with, "Stand up."

"I'm _dying!" _I croak out, and fall to the ground again.

"Suck it up." And then he walks away. One of the guys in my class delivers a solid kick to my stomach, making laughs spread around the group as the follow the teacher. That alone felt as if it drew the life out of me. I make a mental tally, indicating that this would be the eighth time this has happened. I look up at the bleak December sky and see two meteors head through the clouds, one bright purple and the other a pale yellow. I smile, even though that I knew that it was just my vision screwing with me. I hear Veil's voice.

"Peach?!" She screams, and I let out a short breath, the only thing I could manage. She kneels down in front of me, and her voice is echoing, "Did you forget your inhaler?"

I don't reply, mostly because I can't breathe. She leaves, probably to get my inhaler, which is in my laptop case. I feel the ground shake beneath me, without a doubt because of some sort of impact. I let my mind wander. _Maybe it's Death. _I laugh to myself, though it only comes out in a faint wheeze.

Veil returns with the small container of medicine. I let myself breathe for a moment before talking it in. My lungs clear almost immediately. After panting, slightly out of breath, I sit up. "Damn you," She whispers, though both of us know that no one is around to listen or to care.

I just laugh, "I know, I'm sorry, I forgot it."

"Stop forgetting and think about it, Peach."

I just smile and get to my feet, still insanely dizzy from my head hitting the floor earlier. I don't even dare to go back to my gym class, since no one wants anything to do with me. Veil and I just sit out as we usually do. When the class is over, when I change back into my favorite 'My Chemical Romance' shirt and the bell rings, Veil and I walk to our next class, that being History.

What I would soon come to realize, our lives would never be the same upon leaving that old, bland classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

I never pay attention in this class anyway. I rebel against the idea of learning in a class such as History. Instead of paying attention I would read, a way to clear my mind from the previous hour. The teacher begins rambling on about the insignificant things that no one listened to. I look at the cover of my book, that being Darksiders. Death is on the front cover; I let my mind wonder what his face looks like for the hundredth time today.

Death is just so great in my eyes. I love his sarcasm, his voice, everything about him, and I love my father for creating the character, despite the fact that he don't know I exist. I do wish this version of the Horseman was real, though, down to every characteristic, especially his bright amber eyes. I wanted to see them for myself _so_ badly. Deep down, I know that he is just a character, a figment of my father's imagination.

I think.

Some halfway through the class, the intercom rings out, panic in the woman's voice, "Lockdown. This isn't a drill-" She screams, along with a loud splatter. Everyone in the room now looks terrified, including the teacher. The only ones that don't look surprised are Veil and I. She looks over to me with confusion.

Someone twists the doorknob. The teacher silently and frantically directs us to hide in random places in the room. "Go check the other rooms." I hear a low voice say. It sounds familiar…

"Alright, brother. Don't let the children kill you." Now an unfamiliar voice.

"How in the hell did I get assigned to this with _you…" _The voice hisses.

From the sheer power of whoever was on the other side easily kicks the door out of its hinges with a single blow to the center. The first thing I see is the back of his head, since he walked in with it facing away. Before I even realized who I was looking at, my fangirl mode was kicked into overdrive. What. The Hell. H-He's not real! I know he isn't, he is just a video game character…

Though there he is, standing right in front of me.

He had the two halves Harvester in his hands, just in case, probably. In shock, I begin nudging Veil in the arm, as if to say. _Veil. Hey, Veil. Veil, Veil, Veil Veil. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that, oh, I don't know, MY IDOL IS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF US._

"I'm not here to cause trouble," Only one thing is going through my mind as he speaks, which is, _Hey, Death. Your voice is sexy. _

It sounded exactly the same, too! I looked over to Veil, whose face was blending almost perfectly with her blood red hair. I clamp my mouth too keep myself from laughing.

"I am looking for two women somewhere in this facility, by the names of Zada and Veil."

_Hey. Hey Veil. Veil. Veil. HE'S LOOKING FOR US._

All of the heads in the room turn towardthe two blushing girls sitting under the table, one being me. "T-They're over there!" One of the popular girls stutters, tears now streaming down her face. "J-Just don't hurt us, please!"

This time, I can't contain myself. As soon as I make eye contact with Veil, we both burst into laughter. Death and I look at each other, and my stomach churns in a way that makes me feel sick to my stomach. I stop laughing and just look at those eyes, the bright orange irises boring into my soul. His expression at first is confusion, and then anger as he knells down in front of us.

"Get up." He hisses through his hidden teeth. I try to stop smiling, but I just can't. When I see him yank Veil to her feet, almost throwing her across the room, I realize the reality of what is going on. Death isn't a nice, loving guy that Veil and I take him as. He's a killer, and if he's looking for us, it's probably to kill us.

…I still can't stop fangirling. Death grabs my arm, cutting off the blood flow in my forearm. In one swift moment, I'm also on my feet and standing next to Veil. The handle of Harvester makes contact with the side of her head, immediately knocking her unconscious. I try to scream, but it was concealed as he did the same to me. Just before I pass out, I try my hardest to remember the look in those eyes.

Xxxxxxxx

"This is a foolish task." The unfamiliar voice from before wakes me up. I pretend to still be unconscious.

"How so?" Death's chest vibrates as he speaks, and I listen to his steady heartbeat. _This is not real, _I think. _I'm probably dead from my damn asthma attack this morning; I'm probably just lying on the concrete where I collapsed. _

"We are taking these innocent humans from their homes and to the Council, and to what purpose?"

"It is clear that you weren't listening to the Council's reasoning, Strife."

…Strife?! Damn, Veil is going to be in a chirpy mood when she awakes. The bitter cold winds whip against my face and I shiver, holding myself closer to Death's warmth. Unintentionally, of course… okay, it definitely wasn't unintentional. His hold on me loosens, as if he was going to drop me.

"I do have to agree with you on one level, despite how much I dislike to," He sighs, annoyance in his tone, "These humans are too weak. I will be surprised if they make it to the Council alive."

"That's what we were sent to do, keep them alive for their judgment."

Death chuckles loudly, making my head bob. "We will see how that turns out."

"…right. Though, I still don't understand as to why they would be a threat. They are merely children with a more advanced knowledge on how the Balance works. They're not harmful."

"Does it matter, brother? We were sent to gather these and three more, so why don't you _stop _talking and let me enjoy the blessed silence, at least until they wake?"

I hear Strife mumble something under his breath. My fangirl mode clicks on, and I have to bite the inside of my lip with enough force to draw blood to keep myself from laughing hysterically. They are quiet for a long moment, until Death breaks the silence with, "Night should be coming soon. For the girls' sake, we better set up camp."

"Forming an attachment already, brother?"

"Would you rather listen to their complaints in the future? They are humans, and you know how they act. Oh, by the way…" Death stops walking and bends down. "I know you are awake."

…Well, this officially got awkward. My eyes snap open as Death harshly sets me on the snow dusted ground. Strife and Death are staring at me intently. My face flushes red and I look down at my fingers before bursting into laugher burying my face in my hands.

"Well," Strife chuckles, "This is_ certainly_ not the reaction I was expecting towards you, Death."

I do eventually stop laughing. "Y-Y-You're…"

I notice my best friend's limp body in Strife's arms.

_"Veil?!" _That was basically the first word I managed to say without sounding like I just inhaled Helium.

"Don't worry." Death mutters. "She's alive, just resting, is all. We will stay here until morning."

Strife sets down Veil next to me and the two brothers walk away. I pull the sleeves of my black sweatshirt over my hands and hold them in front of my mouth in fists. I still don't understand why half of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse have just abducted my best friend and I.

"Just a normal day…" I sigh. Veil sits up slowly, indicating that she is now conscious. Before I could say anything, I hear Strife's voice.

"Oh, good, she's awake." He hisses. "Come, you two."

He turns on his heel. I look over to Veil, and her expression was priceless. The color in her face drained of all color, and her jaw was drooping to the ground. I try to hold back more laugher, but I can't. She doesn't move an inch as I collapse back into the snow.

"I'm hallucinating," She finally says. I can barely hear her over my laugher. "I'm either dead, or imagining this all."

"I'm happy to inform you, that you're not."

"What. The. Hell. Peach."

"I'm serious!"

"Then what are you laughing at?"

_"You!" _She still is looking at me with confusion. I stand up. "Alright, I will explain. The down side is that we've been abducted-"

"By-"

"Yes. And… I hear that we might not be coming back." She just stares at me blankly. Seconds go by, then a few minutes. "Veil-"

_"Are you serious?!" _Her face lights up. I flinch from her sudden outburst._ "We get to leave?!"_

I grab her shoulders. "Calm down-"

"Why would I want to calm down?! _We get to leave this place!"_

I just laugh. "Alright, just be quiet, Death and Strife aren't exactly-"

"Death's here too?!" She bolts in the direction if where Strife went.

"Veil! Stop!" I yell, and she slows down. I walk up to her, not running; I'm not going to risk an asthma attack. I approach her, Death, and Strife. Of course, she's staring at her idol, and I mine.

Death breaks the silence yet again, gesturing to the small fire. "You must be tired, you two. Why don't you sit down?"

"On account that you hit us over the head-" I cut veil off by nudging her in the arm violently.

"I apologize… um… mister…?" _Oh you idiot. _I think. _Mister Death? You've got to be kidding me! I could have thought of _anything _besides that! _"Or, not… Uh, well…"

"Right." He says loudly. "Well, we will be back soon." He walks up to me, and grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Do not _move_ from these spots," His masked face moves closer to my bright red one. "I can sense your souls. If you try to escape, if you try to move… I _will _find you, and _will _kill you, despite the Council's orders. Am I understood?"

I try to nod, but I can't, since he has an iron grip on my chin. I just croak out the single word, "Yes."

He lets me go, pushing my head back so I almost fall back onto the ground. "Very well… we will return later."

And then they were gone. I watched as they disappeared into the thick brush. "Well," Veil begins. "That must have been fun."

"Shut it." I start blushing again.

"Well, if that was me and Strife, I would pass out."

"I was trying not to," We both burst into laughter. I huddle as close as I can to the fire.

"I can't believe this has actually happened." Veil says after she calms down.

"Yeah."

"We don't have to deal with school anymore; we don't have to deal with our parents anymore."

"Nope. Not unless they find us."

She starts to chuckle. "Hell, those two would kill them before they were in a ten foot radius!" Now I can't hold back my own smile as I lie down in front of the fire. I immediately feel tired. "Zada?"

"Hmm." I barely acknowledge her words, or the fact that she just called me by my real name.

"…Our idols are holding us hostage."

I let out a snort before I begin laughing hysterically again. Because, despite the horrendous truth to that, we were being held hostage… I'd rather have Death and Strife hunting me down as opposed to anyone else in my life.

**Death's POV**

"What has gotten into _you, _brother? Has someone woken up on the wrong side of the grave?"

I sigh at Strife's childish words. "What do you mean?"

"We're abducting them, and you treat them like animals! You could show them the slightest respect-"

"They're humans, brother. Do you think they are showing any respect to us?"

"Oh, will you lighten up-"

I stop, and it one swift movement, Strife is up against a nearby tree and Harvester inches away from his neck. "Listen to me, damn you. I am saying that we are here to collect these _children, _as I have said, and nothing more. Will you _stop _questioning my way on _how _I treat the prisoners, and just _get the task over with?!"_

He just grumbled and pushed the scythe away. He, for the rest of the time, walked in front of me, which I didn't mind. I think Strife might be right, through, that I am being a bit harsh. But there's something about the girl, Zada. _Something_ about her, it just makes me angry. I don't know what it is.

But I intend to find out.

**A/N: Hello! I want to say one thing: Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for reviewing/favorite/following! This is the largest amount of reviews I have gotten in a matter of three days (yes, I know that I only have five, but I'm still exited.) Thanks for reading! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello! I thank you for reading SO much, I'm so glad that you guys like this Fanfic! I will do my absolute best to update as soon as it's humanly possible. **

I didn't know I fell asleep until I wake up in the morning. I sit up to see that the fire was still blazing, as if someone put more wood over it in the past. I look around the woods in search for Death or Strife. I don't see them anywhere. I shift slightly, only now realizing that I have my backpack strung over my shoulder. Immediately I pull it off and start digging through it. I don't remember at all having it on when the lockdown took place, but I suppose I did. I pull out the small black phone along with my headphones. The charge was full, thank God. I put them over my ears and hit play.

The sound of a violin begins playing. I sigh; every worry, small or big, seems to fade. I tuck my knees up and wrap my arms around them, gazing into the flames. It felt like about an hour of listening to my large variety of music when I felt a cold hand on my shoulder.

I rip the headphones off of my head and let out a loud yelp in surprise. "What the hell-?"

"Calm _down,_" Death stands above me.

"Oh! Heh, um, sorry…" I trail off. I hear a low rumble of annoyance in Death's throat as he turns around. Over his shoulder, he calls, "Wake the other. We've a lot of travelling to do."

I wake up Veil awkwardly, and she gets up without comment. I get to my feet as well after putting the phone back into my backpack and slinging it around me again. Death and Strife approach us, though this time, they're on horseback. Despair gives me an annoyed look, I think. Veil grabs my arm and whispers, "Despair. Literally, freaking _Despair._ Are you fangirling yet?"

"…it's possible..." I reply as quietly as I can.

She laughs and turns back towards them. Death gives me a hateful glare, and I don't understand why. _"Zada, _you will ride with Strife. Veil will come with me."

Without comment, I awkwardly sit in front of Strife, and Veil sits with Death. The white horse, not rotting away like Despair, is blowing my mind. Its eyes were soft and green, and the smoke emitting from its hooves is pure white, almost like dry ice. I stare at it for a while as the two horses begin to trot. After a long while, Strife leans down and whispers in my ear, "I don't know why he is being like this. He's usually not this way around _humans."_

"…wh-what do you…?"

"Trust me, there's something about you, that's _really_ pissing him off. I don't know what it is."

I look over to Death, and my heart stops when I realize that he's intently staring at me. I can't read his emotions. I suppose it could be a mix of resent, confusion, and… lust? Hell if I knew, but it's really intimidating. I just stare back. Seconds go by, then minutes, and hours. The only time I break eye contact is when I blink. Besides that, I think it was all day we stare at each other. I didn't fangirl, just stared deep into his eyes. I feel like the woods surrounding us goes black, like the only thing that existed was him, and I hope that he feels the same.

"So," I jump at the sound of Veil's voice, and even Death gives a slight flinch. I look at her a moment too late, then realizing that I stopped gazing at him. "W-where are you taking us…?"

I gave Veil an annoyed look, but Strife is the one to answer. "The Council had learned of your knowledge on this 'game' that you have played. They want to imprison you for your knowledge. There are three more just like you; two live in a place you call Antarctica, and the last in America."

"And then where would you be taking the five of us?"

Strife sighs. "The Charred Council, where they will decide your fate. It's a shame that we have no portals to get around, so we will be travelling for a long, _long_ while."

Veil smiles at him. "Good."

I give her an, "_Oh my god, what the hell are you doing?!" _glare. But she doesn't return it. She just blushes as she looks at Strife.

"We will stop here for the night." Death finally speaks. The four of us dismount, and as Strife and Death begin to make a fire, I pull Veil to the side.

"What the hell, Veil?!" I whisper with slight panic. Her face is still red.

"What?" She says under her laughter.

"I'm serious!"

She lowers the volume of her voice. "Were you listening to our conversation? You were right there!"

"…What are you talking about…?"

"Oh, my mistake, you were staring at Death."

Now my face began to get red. "Shut up,"

"And he was staring at you. What is that, anyway?"

"I don't know... answer my question."

"Well… I don't know, I suppose."

I just stare at her blankly. "That's helpful, really."

She just laughs hysterically. I glance back over to the fire where the two Horsemen are sitting. Strife is speaking to Death, but the eldest is paying little to no attention. Yet again, his eyes are on me. "What is with him? He's looking at you like he wants to brutally murder you."

"He probably does," I retort coldly.

I guess she has no idea of what to say, since she gestures over to the fire. We both sit down opposite of Strife and Death. Veil and Strife sat talking, but Death and I kept quiet. He kept staring at me, and I into the flames again. The sun began to go down, and Veil stands.

"I am going to get some fresh air," She chuckles and walks away. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Strife stands up and walks in her direction.

"I'm just going to make sure that she doesn't run off."

_…damn you, Strife. _I think, cringing slightly. Death looks down at the fire, which lets me look at him. It is comical how identical he looks to the Darksiders Death, down to each scar, each crack from his aged ivory mask, down to the tattoo on his shoulder. As I study his eyes, he looks up at me, and I glance away one second too late. He closes his fist tightly around the handle of Harvester.

I can't take it anymore. I shoot to my feet and begin to walk. "I'll be back."

After I couldn't see the flames anymore, I stopped and sat down against a tree. I'm really getting annoyed; he won't stop staring, and quite frankly, it's pissing me off. Before I can let myself think, I hear Veil talk.

"This is too strange." I hear her say. "You've been my idol, for so many years, and now, you're sitting _right _here next to me."

Strife chuckles, "Strange indeed."

I turn my head to the right and catch a glimpse of them. They're sitting right next to each other, and I watch as the Horseman's arm drapes around my best friends shoulder. "What are you doing…?"

"It's cold. We wouldn't want you to get sick."

I can feel that she's blushing, all the way from over here. I roll my eyes in annoyance. Strife's acting like a child, it's only been less than a day, and he's already all over my best friend. It angers me, but I'm too shy and socially awkward to go back and have another stare down with Death.

I pull my arms out of my sweatshirt sleeves and rub my arms inside of the fabric. I pull my hood up over my head and tuck my knees up, almost instantly falling asleep.

Xxxxxxxx

I wake to the sound of hooves clanking against the ground. I sigh at the contentment I feel, though I don't know where it has come from. When I open my eyes, I see the back of Despair's head. Which meant that Death was behind me. I take in a long breath in panic, but besides that, I freeze. Every time the horse takes a step or two, my back collides with his front. I look over to Strife and Veil, who are talking quietly so Death and I wouldn't be able to hear, but I can tell that they're conversing. I allow myself a small smile, seeing my best friend talking and laughing with her idol. As for me… mine is really angry with me, for no apparent reason, and is _definitely _within striking distance. I feel Death's head look over to them and growl in annoyance. He mutters something under his breath, but I can't catch it.

About halfway through the day, probably around noon, the horses stop, and the Horsemen dismount. Veil looks at me in confusion for a second, but then we both do the same. "It's been a while since you two have eaten," Strife begins. "Brother, you wait here with Zada. Veil and I will find something."

Without comment, Death nods and turns towards me. As soon as Strife and Veil are gone, he begins staring at me again. I don't return it. I ball my fist, looking over to where Strife had gone. When I realize that he's nowhere to be seen, I turn back towards Death and snap, _"What?!"_

His eyes just narrow. I give him a hateful glare and say, "Why are you staring at me?!"

Still no answer. I turn on my heel and begin walking. I blink once, _one time,_ and then he is in front of me with Harvester in his hands. "You're not going anywhere, and you know that."

Screw him. I didn't care if he would kill me at this point. "Then _give me an answer!"_

His glare grows stronger and more intimidating. He leans down and puts his masked face in front of mine again. "Do not order me to do anything," I can tell that he's smiling behind it, since the sides of his lips are just barely showing. "I can, and will kill you if you so much as step out of line on this journey."

"Then do it!"

He shrugs slightly, and in an instant, I feel cold metal up against my throat. I gasp, realizing that I was pinned up against a tree, high up enough where my feet wouldn't touch the ground. That also meant that I was at Death's height. He was holding me up by my scarred wrists, one half of Harvester buried into the tree. My neck just barely was small enough to fit in the arc if the blade. His eyes were locked to mine. His are calm, while mine are the exact opposite, whether it is anger, fear, panic, or hate.

"Now?" He asks.

"You're an ass." I spit out. I expected for him to close the gap between the arc of the blade and the tree, but instead he chuckles evilly.

"That's what I thought. Judgment, I can handle. Don't order me to do anything, or I won't hesitate to separate your head from your neck."

Reluctantly, I nod. He pulls the scythe out and turns around, leaving me to crash to the ground. I rub my neck with my left hand, and with my right, keep myself up so I can look at him. He just stands in front of me, gripping Harvester so tightly that his knuckles were bleeding. I got to my feet, and just as I was about to tell him off, but then I hear Veil.

"What happened? Are you okay?" She asks, walking up to me.

Death was about to say something. "Y-"

"No, nothing happened." I say, giving him a smug look. "Nothing at all. I just tripped, is all."

I get to my feet and help Strife make a fire, since he isn't the one who just almost killed me. Veil, I don't know why, has a word with Death that I just either tuned out or didn't care enough to listen to. When the fire begins to build, Strife puts a piece of meat- I don't know, and don't want to know what kind of animal it came from- over the fire to let it cook. Veil, Strife, and Death sit on one side, leaving me on the other.

"Do you know how close we are to our next destination?" Veil asks no one in particular.

"Very far." Death replies. "It will be, at the least, a year until we cave collected the other three by foot."

"…you're kidding."

"We're going across the Earth; of course I'm not kidding."

"And there's no way to speed it up?" I ask him with annoyance. He turns to me.

"No. Though how I _wish _there was," He leans forward slightly, narrowing his eyes, "How I _wish _to just turn the five of you to the Council immediately, I cannot."

I tighten my jaw and do the same as him. "Then I guess you're stuck with me."

The anger in his eyes makes me want to collapse laughing, but I hold the feeling back. I just smirk, which makes him look more like he wanted to stab me with Harvester. Good. Let him be angry, I don't care. If he's speaking truthfully, that Veil and I are going to be imprisoned, I would rather have my idol kill me as opposed to the Council.

**Death's POV**

When I had found out that the Council was sending me to Third Kingdom to collect these girls, that I would be here for around a year, I didn't expect someone like Zada. I hate the fact that at one moment she can be shy and secretive, and at another she can be cocky and spiteful, but I'm definitely intrigued by it at the same time. Maybe that's why I've been more frustrated. One thing I do know for sure, that I am to lose my mind if I can't figure this one out. On top of it all, Strife and the other girl, Veil, will not stop talking. It's about the most insignificant things, too, and that's come to be slightly distracting.

I've taken a long while to study her appearance as well. Her hair is cosmic blue, which I didn't think was a human trait, but I suppose it could be. She's pale, a similar shade to Fury's skin color, as if she's never seen the sun. She wears all black except for the bright red markings on the front of her shirt. I'm not entirely sure what it says, since it's so strangely written, but I think it reads, 'My Chemical Romance'. I can't say for sure though, and don't understand why it would say that either. The one thing that confuses me most, though, is the multiple scars on the front sides of her wrists. It's only there, only faint white lines exactly next to each other in a symmetrical pattern, as if it was intentional.

As I stare into her abnormally bright green eyes, I  
begin to see that she tries to hide her past, no matter how good or bad. One with as much experience as myself, I can see right into it, and it's obvious that she can do the same. I ponder on how this year will turn out.


	4. Chapter 4

When Veil and I finished eating, we traveled on foot for a while. Death kept his distance from me, and at this point, I could care less. He is still my idol, I can still look up to him, and I just have to keep my distance if doing so. He's always staring, though being more secretive about it, looking away just in time, thinking I won't notice, but I do. I don't mind anymore; he's my idol! I shouldn't care.

When the day comes to a close and night falls, we don't stop; Veil and I are rested enough to travel overnight. She walks dangerously close to Strife, talking and laughing with him. I curiously glance at her every so often, but nothing more. I keep my eyes on the path ahead, listening to the crunch of the snow as I walk. A long while later, when I basically felt like I was dragging myself across the ground, I pull my music out and put the headphones on. I refuse to ask if we can stop. I just have to keep moving… the music keeps me awake, but just barely. I take a deep breath of the frozen air, but as I inhale, my lungs make a loud wheeze. I reach into my sweatshirt pocket and grabbed the small blue inhaler and took in a large amount of the medicine. My lungs clear, and I can breathe freely again. I turn up the volume up and smile.

The temperature rises as morning comes, making it where It's not necessary to shiver like mad. We stop around nine o' clock to make a fire, and I lie down immediately. I can't sleep, I don't know why, but I don't care. I just want to close my eyes for a bit, as long as I could, really, to regain my dwindling strength. My surroundings are completely unrecognizable, and that scared me on a whole new level. I'm used to the small town in northern England; I've never traveled, never left my hometown. I haven't thought about it, either, ever since what happened to my mother, I haven't taken it into consideration.

I forced the thoughts out of my head with an obvious cringe. Death's head snaps over in my direction; only now was I realizing that he was sitting right next to me. Close, too. My heart jumps and I sit up, moving farther away from him. I look to the opposite side of the fire and see that Veil and Strife are gone, probably hunting. I move one half of the headphones away from my ears so I can hear him.

"What is it?" Death asks, for the first time actually sounding concerned. That scares me a little.

"Nothing," I spit back.

He rolls his big orange eyes and says, "I can tell that it is definitely_ not_ nothing-"

"Why do _you _care, Death?"

We have another long stare down. My nails dig into my palms in frustration. He just won't leave me be! The song _Savior _by _Black Veil Brides _comes on. My eyes soften unintentionally and I look down, pulling my nails out of my now bleeding hands. I hear Death's muffled voice, but I ignore it by turning it up to the point where it hurt my ears, letting the acoustic guitar overpower me.

Death moves closer to me. I put both of my hands over the headphones, pushing them closer to my ears, therefore making it louder. Just as the lyrics were about to begin, the music ceases with an audible static _pop._

I look down to see my phone is missing. The headphones are unplugged. I rip them off of my ears and hear, muffled but loud, _"So hear my voice, remind you not to bleed…"_

"HEY!" I yell at Death, who is holding my phone up to his ear. Without thinking about what I'm doing, I lunge forward from my sitting position and tackle him to the ground. He lets out a grunt in surprise as he makes contact with the snow. I try to grab the phone, but it's just out of my reach.

"I've never heard anything like this." He says under his breath. His fascination made me stop reaching for the phone and collapse in laughter on his chest. Death puts it back up to his ear and I hear,_ "So here I write my lullaby, to all the lonely ones. Remember as you learn to try, to be the one you love. So I can take this pen, and teach you how to live, what is left unsaid, the greatest gift I give…"_

"What's the matter with you?!" I scream, trying not to laugh.

"…you have strange taste in music-"

"Yes, I know! Everyone says that." Reluctantly, he hands it back. I met his eyes and just let myself get lost it them. They're just so beautiful, yet terrifying. I want to move, but I'm frozen. Instead I just clench my fist and set it on the side of his arm. He narrows his fiery orange eyes slightly as he scans my bright green ones.

"What the-?" Veil. Damn it, I'm screwed. "Peach?"

As quickly as humanly possible, I climb off of Death's chest and sit back down normally on the ground as far away as I can from Death while still being able to feel the heat of the fire. I swear, Veil has the smuggest and accusing grin on her face that I have ever seen her have, and it slightly pisses me off. I widen my eyes at her, hoping that she'll get the hint to not say anything. But of course, being Veil, she doesn't.

"I didn't mean to… _interrupt _anything…" She giggles. Before she can say anything more, I shoot to my feet and walk towards her, grabbing her forearm tightly and leading her away from the fire. As soon as I think we're far enough away, I stop and begin punching her in the arm; lightly, but repeatedly.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" I hiss through my teeth, though I can't stop laughing. My fangirling is making my anger switch to insane happiness.

"Oh, shut up. You love me," She too now is laughing hysterically.

"…you're right, I do. But _not at the moment!_"

"I didn't mean to, I swear! But dude…" She takes in a long breath, but then starts laughing again. "What the hell…"

"Oh, like I can't say the same for you!" I scream just a _little _too loudly.

"Alright, alright! One subject at a time. What just happened?"

"…I fell."

"Right, like I'm going to believe that…"

"Uh huh, sure…" I mutter, rubbing my temple with only my middle finger.

"Seriously, though, why-"

"He took my phone and was listening to my music!"

"Really now? Were all of your dreams coming true at that _exact _moment?"

"…In the simplest terms, yes." I blush. "Come on, I'm freezing."

We walk back towards the fire where Death and Strife are standing. They're in a heated argument about something, but I don't know what it is about. When we reach them, they stop talking and face us. "Well," Strife begins, "It seems we have come to a conclusion. Since we all are bound to come across some kind of danger, my brother and I have agreed to train you. We will do this so you will be able to handle yourselves as well as help the other three.

"I will train Veil," He says, taking a step over to my best friend. "And Death has chosen to train you, Zada." Strife encouragingly hits me in the back, making me fly forward and into Death. I grit my teeth and stand back, letting my hair fall over my eyes.

The four of us sit down. Veil and I begin eating the now cooked meat of a miscellaneous animal. I tuck my knees up, looking at the tops of my black leather boots as I eat. Before I even realize it, the food is gone. I look up at the cloudy morning sky, a sharp breeze whipping against my face like knives. I try to ignore it as we put out the fire and continue on.

We walked for what seemed to be forever before I get the idea that there is civilization somewhere nearby. I only think so because I can faintly smell the fast food and gasoline. The thick forest comes to a quick and unexpected end, and a large busy highway replaces it. Cars of all colors- though mostly dull ones that match the color of the sky- were racing by and causing a lot of loud noises.

"Well, we should go." Death says, taking a few steps towards the highway.

"Are you _mad?_" I ask, and he turns back towards me. "If people see you, they'll have a heart attack!"

He crosses his arms in obvious amusement. "If you don't mind me asking… why do you think so?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you look like a freaking Halloween decoration!"

Veil and Strife burst out laughing, but I just smile at the Reaper, trying not to do the same. He had a playful look in his eyes which simultaneously made my stomach churn in a good way, yet at the same time scared the hell out of me. "Alright," He shrugs his shoulders. "I suppose we will choose a different route."

"You think?"

I imagine him smiling behind that mask. As I stare into his eyes, I think, _I wonder what his face looks like… _I slightly cringe in embarrassment. _No! What the hell, brain…_

_You know you're curious. _

_No, I'm not._

_If I'm curious, then you are._

_Shut up!_

_Ooh, I bet his face is just as devilishly handsome as his voice, or his eyes…_

This time, I can't conceal a blush. Death's staring at me still, which makes me laugh so hard that as soon as we keep walking, I have to take a dose of my inhaler. We backtrack into the woods for a while, and as soon as we were far enough away, turn right and continue on to see if we can come across something. Nothing. We switch back to the original direction, south. I wonder as we walk, how in the hell we will manage to get to Antarctica from here. Oh my god, I'm actually doing this! I'm more excited than scared, despite the fact that I'll be in prison in a year. This is too much to take in all in three days.

After an hour or so or walking, I am surprised as to what we stumble upon. I see large buildings with bright electric logos displayed on them, constantly switching colors on the screens. People were scattered randomly on the streets, pushing and shoving their ways around to reach wherever they are heading. The smell of fast food and gasoline grows much stronger, since now we are closer to the source of it. The bright red busses drive by, their engines making loud irritating noises as they carry a handful of tourists each. Both Veil and I widen out eyes at the sight of London, at least as part of it. Neither of us has seen it before. There are so many people, so many noises I've never heard, so many kinds of buildings I've never seen. And all along, it was right here. My mind was blown.

I silently hope that no one will scream or draw attention to Death and Strife, mostly because we all know how that would turn out- a vicious bloodbath. Surprisingly, no one says anything. Sure, they stop and stare at us- mostly at Death- until the reality of who was standing before them hits them. Then, they run for their lives, quickly and silently.

Just as I feared of what would happen, attention does get drawn to us, just in a different and more terrifying way. I hear police sirens ring out. Everyone on the streets stops and faces them. The car stops and two policemen step out, pointing their guns at the two Horsemen. I take a small sidestep so I was standing- more like cowering- behind Death.

"We've been informed that you have kidnapped these two youths," One of them calls out. "We are here to promptly arrest you."

"Really?" Death looks amused as he pulls out Harvester. "I welcome you to try, though I don't think it will work out well."

He starts to walk towards them, but soon stops when he hears, "Stop, or I'll shoot!" This puts the Horseman in a laughing fit. "I will give you three seconds to drop your weapons. One!"

A minute goes by of complete silence.

"I believe your counting is a bit off-"

A loud crack of the bullet leaving the barrel sounds, making me flinch and every hair on my body standing up. Death staggers back, running into me. I take another step sideways, letting him compose himself. _"Death?!"_ I scream with a little too much worry in my voice.

He slightly turns to me and scowls, "Quiet!"

I see clearly the wound on his chest. The bullet struck the left side, though it only went about a half-inch in and wasn't bleeding. The other policeman fired once, but since Death was prepared, he raises a half of Harvester before it can hit him .The bullet falls to the ground as a small slab of flattened metal, leaving no indication that it struck the blade in the first place. Death takes a step back and wraps his arm around my waist. I yelp in surprise as he jumps into the air. I do my best not to scream as he begins to descend.

Before we hit the ground, I see the familiar bright green flames rise. Before I know it, I'm sitting in front of Death in Despair's saddle. The horse runs as fast as he can. "Put your head down." He hisses, and I don't hesitate to do so. "Strife!" He yells over his shoulder. I don't know why he does this until I hear a click of a gun and two loud shots. I yelp. Screams of terror ring out. Just as I had guessed it: A vicious bloodbath.

Xxxxxxxx

Despair runs for a long while without stopping. Haw far did we have to go? I reopen my eyes and sit up. Unaware of how quickly I was doing so, the back of my head violently collides with the front of Death's. I hear a loud click, and I watch as his blurry hand quickly grabs something. My vision isn't functioning correctly, so I can't comprehend what it is he is reaching for. When I see it clearly, I begin to shake in fear, my hands beginning to sweat.

It's his mask. The click was my head bumping it off. "Oh! S-sorry…" I stutter. _Don't look back at him. Whatever you do, don't look at him!_

_You could, though. _

_Absolutely not!_

_Just think about it: one movement, one twist of your head, just one _look, _and all of your questions could be answered. _

I have to admit, I'm tempted to. I bite my lip in embarrassment as his fingers tighten around it. He lifts it back up, and with another loud _click, _and it goes back on. Hopefully. Now I'm even more intrigued to turn around, but I still won't. Despair slows to a trot; Strife and Veil catch up, both mounted on the beautiful white horse.

"You could have _waited, _brother." He says impatiently. "Instead of demanding my pistol and taking off with it!"

"I'm sure you didn't miss it too much, Strife." I clamp my hand over my mouth to keep myself from laughing at Death, since he's probably furious with me.

I look around at our surroundings. The sun is now going down, which means the day is closing to an end, thank God. The two horses are walking across an old dirt road, their hooves making inch-deep prints in the hardened clay. There is no sign of civilization anywhere, which is good since no one else will end up dying. I faintly smell salt, unsure of why. Were we close to the most southern end of the UK? And if so, how are we supposed to get to our next destination? By boat, by plane? Swimming, maybe? I don't know.

Before I even know what I'm doing, I break the silence with, "How will we get there?"

Strife and Veil look over to me, and I can feel Death's annoyed gaze. "By ship." The eldest Horseman says blankly.

"What?" I finally turn my torso around to look at him.

He snarls, "Patience." And the silence yet again falls over us. Another half hour went by with nothing besides the clack of the horse's hooves when it came to audio. The smell of salt grows stronger to the point where I can almost taste it. The sun is bright enough now so I can see the massive cargo ship docked in between two docks. I smile and my stomach churns in excitement.

The smoke coming from the top blends with the white clouds, though there's an obvious difference between the two. The base is a rusty nave blue that is plastered over the iron. Boxes of all sizes, whether it be the size of a person or the size of a car. There are no windows, which makes it look like a prison on water. A loud honk makes the ground shake, and I unintentionally leaned back into Death, tucking my legs up and wrapping my arms around them from the scare. Death and Strife dismount, but Veil and I stay in the saddle.

"How will we sneak onto _that?" _Veil asks as he slowly slides out of the saddle.

"That," Death replies. "Is what we will figure out."

**A/N: I could've gone longer with this chapter, but NO ONE IS UPDATING! It's a Darksiders Fanfiction drought. XD I hope you like it, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE REVIEWS!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Death's POV**

I know the simplest way of how to reach the ship, no doubt. I've given the two prisoners a chance to think of a scenario so I can test their amount of knowledge. This way, if they would have any ideas on escaping, I will have a brief idea on how their minds will think of it. Of course, for this assignment, the Charred Council has granted Strife and I a temporary human form for the purpose of blending in. It won't last for long, but it will for long enough so we will be able to enter.

Veil goes on for quite a while, guessing things like, "Why don't we wait until no one is around and just sneak on?" Or, "We could hide in one of the boxes." Or just flat out, "Why don't you kill anyone what comes in our way?" She seems strangely enthusiastic about it all, while Zada seems strangely bored. I glance over to her as often as I can without making anyone suspicious. Just when I am about to tell them how we will do it, Zada speaks up.

"Do you have a human form?" She asks with slight annoyance in her tone. This amuses me beyond words. I cross my arms and look at the small woman sitting with her knees tucked up on Despair's back.

"You're a strange one." I reply between chuckles.

She glares at me with a matter-of-fact look. "Bite me."

I have to clench my jaw to keep myself from laughing, both uncontrollably and unprofessionally. For some reason, she just makes me want to laugh. For me, that's not right. Something's off. A few days ago, she annoyed me to the point where I wanted to kill her brutally, and now I enjoy her company. No… rather more amused by her existence. I walk up to her and grab here forearm, pulling her off of the saddle. She barely lands on her feet, but manages since I was standing there to keep her up. I push her away somewhat awkwardly, and we lock eyes as soon as she's efficiently standing on her own. A few moments pass by of silence.

"Well, do you?" She asks again.

"But of course." I chuckle, looking over to Strife, who is staring at Veil. "Brother."

"Hmm?" His head snaps in my direction.

"Are you going to pay attention to your surroundings, or are you going to stare at the prisoner as if she's the only female throughout all of the kingdoms?" Saying this makes the girl's face flush red.

"Like you don't do the same, Death." Strife says, gesturing his hand to Zada. I clench my fists, but nothing more. I don't dare to look over to her, but I'm tempted.

"Say what you will, Strife. I will be back; stay here with them."

**Zada POV**

I really would like to kill Strife for saying that, but I know that it's impossible. I just glare at him angrily until I catch his eye. He crosses his arms and glares back. "What?"

"Damn you!" I yell. "Why did you say that?"

"As if it's not true," He chuckles. "…oh come, you know I'm just being an ass."

I can't hold back a small laugh. "You really are."

"Well, my brother does stare at you in a somewhat predatory manner."

"And you don't to my sister?" I retort.

Veil bursts out in laughter. Strife chuckles at her embarrassment, as do I. She walks up to me and puts her hand on my shoulder to keep her up. I begin to think she might have trouble breathing, despite her lack of asthma. I'm sure she can laugh longer but she stops when we hear Death's voice.

"I don't find it very fitting." He chuckles.

I spin around to look at him, expecting the Death that I know, but that's not what I see. I have to direct my line of sight downward, for his human form is much shorter. It does look like he is a native of the Third Kingdom, except for his bright non-human orange eyes. The rest of his face was blacked out completely, hidden by a black sweatshirt hood, which gives me a wave of disappointment and relief. His hair stands out greatly since every article of clothing he is wearing is black, while it is bleach white. His skin isn't as sickly gray as it usually is; now it's more than, though only showing on his hands. No weapons are currently present, since Harvester I wouldn't think is too easy to hide. He is without any, which I'm sure will become troublesome later. He looks as if he's actually had a meal in his life time. Frankly, he looks a bit obese compared to his normal self.

"Still quite intimidating," Strife finally replies.

"Compared to you, I highly doubt it."

"That's a first."

"And the last," Death concludes the conversation with, "Now I will wait here. Go, and hurry back, since there is no telling when the ship will leave."

Strife exits the general area without another word. The Horseman takes the time to look over himself, adjusting his hood so it definitely covers his face, staring at his hands and arms. I awkwardly try to make conversation with Veil as I occasionally glance over to him and every time he looks up and makes eye contact with me. He looks as if he's just like me, like he has a similar hellish past. Though if the same context as the video game is true, where he brutally murdered his entire kin, his family, all to protect the balance, then he has had a far worse past than I.

Hopefully that's the one part of the game my father made up.

Strife walks back in his human form a few minutes later, and Veil has a major fangirl attack. Her face turns bright red and she quietly- not silently, since I can hear it from a few yards away- begins to hyperventilate. I find out when I look up at him.

He didn't have his mask on. The Horseman's raven black hair isn't spiked back anymore; now it hangs down and over his right eye in a more gothic style. His golden glowing eyes showed brightly in the now darkness. He is still his same muscle size, but his height dropped dramatically, so he is now almost the exact size as his older brother. He sticks his hands in his gray sweatshirt pockets and grins at Veil.

One second later, my best friend is partially unconscious in my arms. She _literally _passed out from fangirling. Her falling made me stagger back and into Death. "Damn it, Strife!" I snap as he kneels down next to me.

"My apologies. She must have been overwhelmed by my looks." I look up to him with annoyance, and he winks back. I roll my eyes and lightly slap him in the now exposed face. He chuckles and I watch my best friend regain her consciousness.

"Veil?" I ask, shaking her shoulders. She sits up and scoots away from the younger Horseman.

"S-sorry!" She says on the verge of screaming. "I-I-I-I, y-you-your…"

"Is she always like this?" Strife whispers in my ear.

"Only when she's thinking about you-"

"Shut up, Peach!"

"So you _are _capable of speaking?" I laugh.

"You know _damn _well-"

"Shut _up!_" Death exclaims. I turn to see the annoyance on his face. "You are all acting like _children! _Come. We don't have much time."

Xxxxxxxx

I walk behind the other three awkwardly, my hands in my sweatshirt pockets as I kick a rock along my path. I think about how many people are missing me back at home. Maybe a few teachers, since I'm not there for their attendance check. Or maybe they shut the whole school down for mine and Veil's sake. Honestly, I don't even think they sent more than two cops to find us, to take us back to the shriveled up old town that we once called "home." I'm glad, I really am. I don't want to live there anymore, I never have. Even if it's for a short while, I get to see the world, accompanied by my best friend and our idols.

I let out a sigh and watch as my warm breath mixes and swirls around the frigid air. As it fades, I look up and see the other three standing in front of the ship's entrance. There is an old man standing before them, keeping us from stepping in. As soon as I reach them, the old man reluctantly steps back and lets us through. I give him an annoyed look as I follow the others on. I walk next to Veil, who is silent along with the others. Death acts as if he knows exactly where he is going, since he has no hesitation at all as he walks. Strife catches up to him and asks, "Where are we heading, brother?"

"Down. Below deck, away from any other humans."

"Why?"

The eldest Horseman of the Apocalypse, despite his less intimidating form, stops and stares at the three of us. "We must blend in. You two won't have much of a problem," He points at Veil and I, then returned it to himself. "Strife and I will. These human forms won't last more than another few hours. You are free to roam about, since there is no escaping. Jumping from the boat will only anger the Charred Council further, forcing them to drag your souls from the Well… I think I've been clear enough," He nods his head, revealing a very brief outline of his jaw. I blush slightly. He takes a step back and opens a door behind him. "Veil and Zada, this will be your temporary living space for the next few months."

Hesitantly, I follow Veil into the room. It looks like a freaking prison cell. The walls are all made of steel, along with the floors and ceiling. There are two small rooms, one behind the other. Veil takes the one farthest from the front door. I set my backpack down and sit on the small one-person cot that is propped up in the corner of the room. A loud honk erupts from upstairs, which makes me jump out of my sitting position. I rub my hands together, realizing that there is a stack of blankets on the other side of the room. I pick up a thick burgundy colored one and wrap myself in it. Exhaustion is getting the best of me; I don't even bother to walk over to my bed. I just press my back against the south wall and slide down. As soon as I'm sitting, I put my hood up and rest my head down, falling asleep.

X-

I didn't think I'd wake up in the middle on the night, but I did. Groggily, I sit up and push the blanket off. The temperature has risen dramatically. I yawn and stretch my arms, standing up as I begin to rub my eyes. I take a moment to walk around and to turn on the light, but freeze when I see a mirror hanging on the bathroom door. Since when is that there? I don't remember seeing it. I look myself in the eyes, taking a few steps closer. My blue hair is matted to the point where it looks like a mullet. My clothes are stained and dirty, but it doesn't matter, since it's all black. I roll up my sleeves and take a good long look at the white scars marring my skin. They will be there forever, to taunt me with their evil reminders of the dark time in my life where it left so many scars, whether it be physical or mental, inflicted by me or not.

"What happened?"

I scream and spin around to face Death in his usual form. "Damn you, don't ever do that again!"

"Answer my question, then." He shuts the door behind him as he enters the room. He stops walking when he's a few feet away from me, so it's not more uncomfortable than it already is. "What are the scars from?"

"I'm not telling you!"

"Then I'm not leaving."

"…you're going to wake Veil-"

"She's with Strife."

"What? Why?!" I yell, barging into her room and realizing her absence.

As soon as I return, he says, "He wants to speak with her."

"And you come here to bother me? Wonderful."

_"No…_ I have come to ask you that question. Preferably to get an answer."

"And if I refuse?"

He crosses his arms and shifts so he is standing more comfortably. "Then I suppose I will be staying here tonight."

Ironically, this creeps me out. I sigh in frustration and turn back towards the mirror. I look at Death, standing behind me; it's obvious that he is refusing to look at himself. I want to say something about the slaughter, to ask if it actually happened. Of course, I don't have the guts.

"Tell me." He rubs his fingers together and hesitantly offers his hand out. This is how I realize it; he's completely clueless. I reject his offer and end up venting.

"You really want to know?" I snap.

"Y-"

"Do you _honestly _not know why these scars are here?!" I spin around and approach him, putting a wrist in front of his eyes. "You've never heard of _self harm, _have you, 'Horseman'?! Let me enlighten you; it's when other humans kill ones self-confidence to the point where they want to inflict pain on themselves!" Now I'm screaming in his face. "You think that your balance is so _perfect, _that everyone around this hell hole lives in harmony, as if there isn't a problem in the universe! You're wrong!"

"…I don't follow-"

"Of _course _you don't follow… Well, in the simplest terms, humans are as wreck less and idiotic as demons."

"In what sense?"

_"In the sense that they make people like I do this to themselves!" _

"You're not the only one-?"

"Of course not…" My voice cracks. _No. No, not now, I will kill you if you cry… _I think, forcing myself to continue. "There is Veil, and millions of others… some people don't think it will end, and they will end their loves early…" I wipe my eyes and laugh humorlessly. "I'm glad I found _my _escape."

"What was that?"

"…let's say that he kidnapped me."

"…Strife?"

I laugh quietly at his humorous nature. "And you… and War, and Fury… That game you're taking me into custody for playing gave me my escape… well, that backfired, didn't it?"

**Veil's POV **

"Veil?" I flinch when I feel someone's hand on my shoulder.

"What?" I mutter back, rolling over and away from whoever is trying to get my attention. It's probably Peach, or-

"It's me." I recognize the voice. It's Strife's. I meet his bright golden eyes.

"Oh! Um… Heh, sorry…"

"That's alright. Come with me."

He grabs my hand and pulls me from my room. We quietly open the door and walk out, leaving Peach to sleep. I blush madly when he doesn't release his grip on my hand. I see Death in the hallway, and Strife doesn't stop.

"Brother? Where are you going?" He asks, and I walk past him.

"Just getting some fresh air. Having a word with the prisoner." Strife calls over his shoulder. We walk up the flight of stairs, leading to the upper deck. The cold air whips against my face, making a chill run down my spine.

"Strife!" I yell, and he stops. "What is it?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About what? I-it's the middle of the night, and-"

I was cut off by lips pressing against mine. I take a deep breath, and in surprise try to pull away, but his arms are tightly wrapped around my waist. No, no, no. This isn't happening! My stomach churns in a way that makes me feel sick to my stomach. I squeeze my eyes shut and push Strife away. The look in his eyes made every hair on my neck stand up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"N-N-N-"

"Can you speak efficiently?"

I laugh hysterically and shake my head. I take a few steps away from him and rest my back against a box. As soon as I'm calm, it got a bit awkward as we have a stare down, just like Peach and Death do. After a few moments, I clear my throat and look down at my shoes. He slowly takes a step forward and gently grabs my hand. I won't look him in the eyes, though I want to. Nope. No. NO. Don't look up, I swear!

I find myself looking into his eyes after he forces my chin up. "Uh…"

"May I?" He chuckles, his lips centimeters away from mine. He puts his other hand on my cheek, but soon moves it, probably because of the heat radiating from it. My face is about as bright as my hair, and getting redder. Before I realize what I'm doing, I nod. He smiles and moves closer, slowly and hesitantly. Before our lips touch, he grabs my hands and holds them so they won't shake. In another instant he kisses me. My breath gets caught in my throat, and I give an attempt to return it.

My mind is literally imploding. I can't think; it's as if there's nothing to care about. It seems too weird to imagine! I just want to laugh, but I can't. I don't know what to do. He breaks the kiss reluctantly, but keeps his forehead on mine.

"I don't know what it is about you…" He says with a smile. "But I'd like to find out."

He kisses me again, this time not as innocently. My heart is beating in my ears, but I do my very best to stay calm. After a moment, he pulls away and chuckles.

"Not a very efficient conversation," Strife says, and I laugh awkwardly. He got a little more serious when whispering, "We must not tell the others, If Death or Zada find out, they will put an end to it immediately."

I can't even tell my best friend…? How am I going to keep something like this in?! "Then I suppose you'll be seeing me more often, so I can keep my sanity."

**A/N: Hello! Thank you for all the reviews, it helps SO much. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Zada**

I wake up with a painful headache. One glance out of the small circular window indicates that it's now morning. I sit up, realizing that I was in my bed. I stretch only my left arm, since my right one feels numb.

"Peach!" I jump when I hear Veil's voice. "What the hell happened to you?!"

I rub my eye with my left hand and say, "I was asleep."

"That's not what I mean!"

She walks over to me and gently set her hand on my right shoulder. I wave of pain surges through me as if someone was stabbing me with a knife. "Agh!" I shove her hand away, turning my attention to my shoulder. There is white gauze wrapped around me from the bottom of my neck to my arm, right before my elbow. There is a strip of blood that had soaked through on the top.

"W-what…?" I ask myself, touching where the blood was darkest and wincing. "W…where…?"

"That's what I'm asking you! Look," She steps back, revealing a path of it across the floor, turning the metal flooring red. I stare at it with confusion for about a minute. Then two. I can't take my eyes off of it. I hear Veil call my name and try to get my attention, but I can't think. It's making me too uncomfortable. What the hell happened…?

Veil blocks my line of sight. I blink a few times and look at her. "I found more gauze. We will fix it and ask Death or…"

"Strife?"

"What? No! Nothing happened!" I raise my eye brow. What is she babbling about? "Or… yeah, we can ask him. We should!"

"…alright…" I say.

She laughs and looks away, running into the bathroom. She comes back with a roll of white cloth. Setting it down beside me, she starts unraveling what is already there. I wince every time the blood comes undone, since it stuck together overtime, making the two minutes of it hell. I begin to feel dizzy as soon as all of it comes off. I look over and see blood pouring out of the two foot long cut.

"Damn it…" Veil hisses. "Alright, give me a moment. I'm sorry if this is painful."

She ties the beginning around my arm and pulls it tight. I let out a scream, but then shove my fist into my mouth, digging my teeth into the skin as a distraction. She begins to wrap it slowly, and I don't dare to look again. She has to shake my other shoulder to get my attention, and I take my hand out of my mouth.

"Do you remember anything?" Veil asks.

I think back to last night, when Death came and asked me about the cuts on my wrists. I remember saying that my obsession has back fired, and… that's really all I can recollect! "Um…"

She's much more serious now. "Was it Death?"

"I haven't the slightest idea…" I sigh, shaking my head. Then I know what I need to ask her. "Hey, what were you doing with Strife? Death said that he wanted to speak with you."

"What? No! Nothing! It's… Shut up!"

I look at her with annoyance. "Veil! English, please."

She took a deep breath, as she does when she lies, _every time, _"He wanted to ask if everything around here was going alright, if we were settling in well."

I wanted to point out that she was obviously lying, but my dizziness grows. I grab my head and slouch. "Alright," I shake my head. "Why don't you go and ask Death… or, I'll have to go with you. So… um…"

"Wait, when did Death tell you that?"

…damn it! "Oh! Well, he just came to speak with me."

Her eyes grow wide. "Y…you…?"

"I what? He just wanted to ask me something…"

"Maybe that's when he, oh, I don't know, _almost ripped your arm off!"_

"…H-he didn't… why would he?"

"Let's find out."

Slowly, I get to my feet. Veil keeps me walking so I don't look like an idiot. We pass by random people who are also boarded on the ship without making eye contact. They don't acknowledge our presence, as I figured. At the very end of the hallway is another room, and we hear their voices. Veil and I stand in front of the door and listen.

"What?!" Strife yells.

"I don't _know,_ brother!"

"Why would you do that?! We are supposed to bring them back to the Council _unharmed…"_

"Don't question me."

"I'm about to. Why would you wound her like that?!"

"She angered me."

"She did. How so?"

"…Strife, this is highly unnecessary."

Veil looks at me with a what-the-hell-did-you-do look. I shrug, completely unsure with what I did. Maybe from venting, telling him about how the Third Kingdom actually is? I keep listening. I hear the click of Strife's gun.

"Tell me."

"…You are acting like a child!"

"I _am _the younger one here."

I hear Death's growl in annoyance. "She had told me of how terrible this Third Kingdom is, and I was overwhelmed with anger."

"…she's allowed to have an opinion-"

"Not at _her, _you imbecile, at the _Third Kingdom!"_

Silence falls over the two brothers. Despite how much I want to hear what he will say, I can't. I just can't. I immediately turn on my heel and walk back towards my room, being careful not to hurt my shoulder. I open the door and slam it shut, sitting down on my bed. Veil wrapped it so it was more like a sling; my elbow was bent at a ninety degree angle. The pain was overwhelming, and I had to curl into a ball to keep myself from snapping. Someone opens the door, and I'm sure it's Veil, since I can actually hear it. I look up and watch as she sits down next to me.

"Do I want to know what he said?" I ask, and she sighs.

"I would…"

"Then tell me."

"…He said he didn't know why, but he took his anger out on you. You fell unconscious, but he did his best to fix it, hence not leaving you to die."

I sigh. "Fine and set my head back down. At the moment, I didn't really care. I just wanted to sleep, to hope that Death didn't actually do it. I want everything to go back to normal, where we could stare at each other for hours on end.

"How are you?" I hear Strife's voice, and I slowly look up.

"Tired, and in a lot of pain." I reply boringly.

He chuckles and approaches Veil and I. There's a plate of food in his hand, which he sets down next to me. "I will help Veil find something to eat."

The two exit the room. Just before I lose sight of them, I watch Strife wrap an arm around her waist. I stare at the door for a long while as soon as they're gone. I start to worry that maybe they didn't just have a conversation last night.

xxxxxxxx

**Death **

Guilt is racking me for my actions. If my anger didn't get the best of me, I wouldn't have done it. Her words acted as if they were adrenalin, which each one I wanted to kill someone, something, just to keep it at ease. I actually cringe at the thought. Why do I feel like this, I wonder? I shouldn't. She's a prisoner, nothing more.

Still, I can't convince myself so.

Now Strife is going to check her wounds, but I stay in my place. As soon as she finds out the truth, that I had injured her to such extremes, I don't think it will be the same way as it was before. I don't want her to fear me, but I suppose she won't have another choice. I close both of my fists in more anger, pacing around the small room. I stop. Approaching the door, I wrap my fingers around the doorknob, though hesitate to turn it. I would like to go and apologize, to fix my wrong doing.

I've never been good at apologies.

And I shouldn't be! I was made to kill, not to feel remorse towards a human's misfortune by my blade. Still, it doesn't feel right. I give in, promising myself that I _will, _no matter _what, _apologize later. I walk over to the window and lean against the wall next to it. The waves crash against themselves from the momentum of the boat. I chuckle behind my mask, remembering the last time I've seen an ocean, eons ago. Contentment falls over me, a feeling that I'm not particularly used to; maybe I have it every hundred years or so. I try to let it last. I'm used to one feeling, and one feeling only:

Guilt.

xxxxxxxx

**Zada**

I push the plate to the side as soon as the contents are gone. The pain in my shoulder in horrendous, and I wish I can do anything to make it stop. I hear Veil's voice as she just barely opens the door. "Hopefully Zada's asleep," She says with a worried tone. "Her arm must be killing her."

"Of course." Strife replies.

"I'm going to eat. I will speak with you later?"

Veil opens the door a little more so I can see her and Strife. "Wait," He stops her from going in. "Are you forgetting something?"

Her face flushes red. She smiles as Strife, the Rider of the White horse, third oldest of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, leans own and kisses her on the lips. Wait… what?!

"Bye," she giggles as he pulls away. He walks off with a huge grin on his face. I stare at Veil in shock. As soon as she realizes I'm awake, she freezes.

"…Veil?"

"H-how's your arm?!" She's pretty much screaming.

"Fine…" I lie as I raise an eyebrow.

"…what?" Now she sounds more innocent.

I begin to doubt what I just saw. Maybe it was just a friendly kiss, like it didn't mean anything. "Um… d-did I just see what I think I saw?"

"Like what?"

"Y…you… and Strife…?"

Veil takes a moment to think, and then her eyes grow wide. "What? Absolutely not!" She laughs, avoiding eye contact. "The blood loss must be getting to you. Let me see if I can find any pain killers."

She walks into the bathroom, and a few minutes later, returns with a small white bottle of Ibuprofen and a plastic cup full of water. I take them without hesitation, drinking all of the water and setting the empty cup next to me. Not too long later, my arm is numb, and the pain gone, but I feel loopy. My vision is blurry, I can't think straight. Veil tries to keep me conscious, but I'm too tired to cooperate.

"I think I'm going to sleep for a while…" My words are slurred, but I'm sure she's able to understand them. I lie down and pull the covers over myself with my left hand, being careful not to move my right arm too much. The second I close my eyes, I'm out like a light.

xxxxxxxx

I almost scare myself when I wake up. All I see is white until my vision clears, and I see my room. No one is here. Slowly, I sit up, letting out a whimper in pain. The Ibuprofen has worn off, and the blood from the wound is starting to seep through. I stand up and avoid looking into the mirror as I enter the bathroom. It has the same prison-cell look, but I don't mind all that much. There's a sink, toilet, and shower. Hopefully they actually work.

I turn on the faucet on the sink. It is immediately an even stream. I run my left hand under the cool water, pooling it into my palm and catapulting it into my face. It feels nice, since I haven't bathed in- at the very least- a week. I don't need a second thought. I walk back over to the door and lock it. I still don't feel comfortable taking a shower, but what other choice do I have?

I turn it on. Water spits from the head, making me flinch. Reluctantly, I undrape myself- including the gauze around my arm- and step in. The warm water mildly burns on the gash, but it's bearable. Blood mixes with water and swirls down the drain. I wash my hair with a bar of soap I saw on the side that was unused. Despite the painful consequences, I also wash out the wound. It stings, and I cringe, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

When I'm finished with my shower, somewhat twenty minutes later, I take a moment to wrap my arm back up. It's not very pretty, but it will keep the bleeding at ease. I wrap myself in a bleach white towel and wash each article of my clothing individually under the sink. They're soaking wet afterwards, obviously. I use a heater nearby to dry them. When I put them back on, they're warm and feel nice against the gauze. I walk out of the bathroom and greet Veil who had just entered.

"Where were you?" I ask.

Her face brightens red. "Just got something to eat." She says calmly. I nod, though I know that she's lying. "How's your arm?"

"I'm about to take more Ibuprofen."

"So, basically, it's killing you?"

I cringe. "Yeah."

She walks up to me and wraps her arms around me, making sure that she doesn't disturb my wound. "I'm sorryyy…"

I just laugh it off. "It's fine. I'm fine… do you have any idea what time it is?"

She shrugs and looks out the window. "Probably around seven or so."

"Okay," I sigh. "I'm going to rest."

"Peach, feel better!" She whines.

"I'm alright, Veil." I laugh. "I'm exhausted, is all.

"Fine. Promise you'll feel a little better tomorrow?"

I smile and nod in agreement. She lets me go, and I fill up my water, taking two of the pain killers. I sit down on my bed. As soon as I feel them kicking in, I lean back and close my eyes, letting sleep take me over.

Xxxxxxxx

Tonight, I only wake up once. I'm both angry and glad that I did. When I open my eyes, I see a large figure standing over me. Instead of jumping, I freeze. I see two bright orange eyes in the darkness, indicating who it was. Hopefully Death didn't know I was awake. He couldn't have.

He rubs his fingers over the gauze on my elbow, moving his hand up to my shoulder, then my neck. He stops there for a moment, cupping the right half of my face in his palm. He kneels down, softly gripping a lock of my blue hair in his fingers.

"I've never been too good at apologies," His words are barely even whispers, but I manage to translate them. "But this one is sincere…"

I hear that familiar _click. _I close my eyes in the fear that he will find out I'm awake. He sits there for what seems to be forever, just staring at me like he always does. I want, more than anything in the world, to open my eyes, to see his face. But if I do, I'm dead. Simple as that.

That's when Death stands. He rolls his shoulders- I can only tell from the noise his armor made- and puts his hands down, one above my head and the other over my right one. He leans downward. I take a deep breath to keep myself calm. I feel his lips collide with my temple very gently. He holds them there for a long moment.

And then he lets go, exiting the room without another word.

**A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm hoping that the romance part of this fic isn't coming too early, since it's only chapter 6. I'm not sure. Thank you for reviewing! My mind is freaking BLOWN on how many people like this Fanfic! It's crazy! THANK YOU!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello! I come to you with a shorter chapter, but I thought that I should cut it off here. I hope you like it! THANKS FOR REVIEWING!**

**X-**

I wake up with a very worried Veil standing over me. "Zada!"

"What? What happened?!" I ask, slowly sitting up.

She sighs in relief and hugs me. "You lose a lot of blood in your arm…"

"Oh." I chuckle and hut her back, though I'm so dizzy that I feel like dying. I put my hand up to my forehead in pain. Veil shakes her head.

"I'm going to get you something to eat."

I'm too dizzy to argue. I silently agree, and she races out of the room. Before it shuts, someone catches it, keeping it open. Slowly, Death opens the door. He enters the room somewhat shyly, and to me that's the most adorable thing on the face of the universe. I hold back a smile as I look him over. His scythes are now absent, making me feel guilty.

"How is your arm?" He asks nonchalantly, rolling his shoulders again. This makes me think of last night. Death apologized. Death took his mask off, though I didn't see his face.

Death kissed me.

_Run that by me again, brain? _I think. _Death likes me. No! Nope. Not going there. Bye. _

"Zada." He gets my attention again.

I meet his worried gaze, and my hands begin to shake. "F-fine… I-I-It's fine, really." I try my best to sound casual.

He shrugs and looks down. "You already know the cause, I presume?"

"Yes…" I reply, and he nods. "…Death?"

"Hmm?"

"…please don't feel guilty?" Damn it. Why did I just say that?! Now I really sound like an idiot.

He looks back up. "I beg your pardon?"

"You carry too much guilt. Don't make this another reason to carry it."

He chuckles and crosses his arms. "And how would _you _know that _I _carry guilt?"

…should I risk saying this? I don't think he's going to injure me further… Oh, what the hell? I don't have anything to lose. "…did you murder the Nephilim?"

"…what?" He immediately is serious.

"Your kin… they're dead by your hand…" He closes his fists around his belt where his scythes are usually placed. "The attack you lead… is it true?"

"Stop. _Now._"

He sure doesn't need to tell me twice. I shut up. Death takes a deep breath, probably to calm down. He walks over to me and sits down, making me the slightest bit uncomfortable. He is my idol, for one, and he almost killed me, so I think I have the right to be absolutely dying.

"Enough about me. I'd like to know more about my prisoner."

That's basically the best and most terrifying thing that has ever come out of Death's hidden mouth. My fangirl mode clicks on. "You won't attempt to kill me again, will you?"

He holds his hands up playfully with a chuckle. "I'm unarmed."

I giggle and look down, but agree, and begin to speak.

Xxxxxxxx

**Death **

I give her a simple topic to speak about. At first, I'm not listening worth a damn. I just wanted to hear her voice. She's driving me mad! I'm not used to these kinds of feelings, and I hate them. But she's different; seeing her, listening to her voice, that lowers the level of my frustration. Soon, I do get interested in her story. She tells me that she's lived on her own since the age of eight, since she's never met her father and her mother and older brothers died. She won't say how. No one acknowledged their deaths. She's been living in an old abandoned mansion, not speaking about it at all. Not even Veil knew that she lived alone. She hunted for food, bathed at her school. She would play the game that has come dangerously close to reality that was fittingly named _Darksiders. _They loved it the second it was released.

"I loved your character most…" She says shyly, her face coloring red. I grin behind my mask. "Veil chose Strife, hence her _constantly _speaking with him."

"And why is it that you don't _constantly _speak with me?" I ask smugly. She shrugs and opens her mouth to say something, but quickly shuts it and shakes her head. For the sake of curiosity in what she will do, I put my hand over hers and lean forward. Doing so makes my stomach churn, but I ignore it. Her face drains of all color, which makes me chuckle. "and _why _is it that you don't… _constantly _speak with me?" I repeat.

She squeaks as a response. Her embarrassment and social awkwardness I find hilarious, and quite frankly adorable. A little. Though I do feel bad for the girl after hearing all of these things. She mumbles something under her breath, but I couldn't hear it. "Hmm?"

"Whatever I did to make you mad, I apologize."

I feel the same wave of fury that I felt before taking my blade to her. I close my fist tightly. What am I doing…? This is idiotic and childish. She looks up and meets my eyes; her confusion turns to fear in seconds. "D-D-Death?"

I can't do this. I stand up and walk out of the room. I don't want to risk hurting her again. As I'm heading towards my temporary living space, I'm greeted by Veil. She looks at me with horror.

"What did you _do?!" _She screams, bolting past me though being careful not to spill the plate of food for Zada. She's gone before I can retaliate.

Xxxxxxxx

**Veil**

I run into Peach's room, and she's unharmed. Seeing that makes me feel so relieved, though she's blushing madly. I set down the plate of eggs that I smuggled from the kitchen next to her, opening the bottle of Ibuprofen.

"I need to keep him _away _from you," I say, shaking my head and setting down the two pain killers next to her.

"It's fine," She replies. "I'm fine. Everything is fine… he apologized."

This surprised me. "He did?"

I could tell that she regretted what she said. "Uh… well-"

"How? What did he say?"

She sighs and buries her face in her left hand. "I-d rather not say."

"No, now you have to tell me!"

"Why?"

"Because _Death._"

That makes her laugh. "No, I won't say. It's not necessary."

"Yes it is!" I yell as she begins to eat. "I'll… I'll _ground_ you if you don't tell me!"

Her laughter grows. "Pfft. Are you being serious? I'm the one with the gaping wound here! I'm not going anywhere!"

I'm doubled over in laugher, as is she. She has an asthma attack and has to take a dose of her inhaler. When she calms down, she takes the pain killers and lies down. "I'm going to listen to music."

"Play it aloud," I suggest, and she nods. She searches through her backpack and pulls out her small phone. After scrolling through her wide variety of music, she clicks on a song and turns up the volume.

_White walls surround us, no light will touch your face again. Rain taps the window, as we sleep among the dead…_

I've never been too find of this sing, but I do know that it gives Peach a sense of comfort. I let it play on without comment.

_Days go on forever, but I have not left your side. We can chase the dark together, if you go, then so will I…_

I look up when hearing a faint knock. Death is standing at the open door, and I jump up, though making sure not to disturb Peach. I put my hand on the center of his chest and shove him away, closing the door quietly behind me.

"What do you want?!" I yell, pushing my back against the door to keep it shut.

He crosses his arms in amusement. "I've kidnapped you, knocked you unconscious multiple times, and yet you _still _stand up to me?"

"Yes!" I don't realize how stupid it is to be yelling at him until just now. I calm down a little, enough for him to as well. "…just stay away from her."

"No."

"Why?! What will you gain from making her suffer?"

"I don't want to hurt her."

"You're full of it."

"Is that so? Then why-" He holds his arms out to his sides. "Are my scythes absent? If I intended to hurt her, then I would have them, and she would be dead."

I cringe slightly at the thought. "Scythes aren't the only weapons you carry, I'm sure of it!"

"Exactly. I have my fists, and I'm ready to use them." He takes a step forward angrily. "Just not on Zada."

…well, I think I just found out what happens when you push Death too far.


	8. Chapter 8

**Zada**

_"S-STRIFE!" _Veil's scream makes my heart almost stop. Before I even know what I'm doing, despite the pain in my bleeding shoulder from all of the movement, I'm running towards the door. I open it and almost trip, but before I can, my right shoulder slams into the wall.

Pain surges through me. I suppress a yell, because if I do, odds are that it won't turn out well. I force myself away from the wall where there is now blood dripping down it. My vision is blurred and everything is spinning rapidly.

_"HELP!" _Veil screams again. It's loud and echoing down the halls. I can feel the Ibuprofen that I just took kicking in, and that's only making it worse. I blink rapidly in an attempt to clear my vision, and I manage to, but barely. I see Death pinning her to the wall, holding her about a foot off the ground, his fingers wrapped around her neck. I take a few deep breaths, which clears my vision further. And reluctantly charge towards the eldest Horseman.

I try to ram him with my left shoulder, but with my luck, I lose my sense of direction and hit him with my right. Everything begins to shake and burn. It's just… too… damn… much…

Xxxxxxxx

**Death **

She doesn't knock me over, but topples me enough so I loosen my grip on Veil's neck. I realize what I've done. My anger has gotten the best of me. Strife runs to Veil, who was knocked out by air loss. I now have Zada to deal with. She's unconscious and loosing blood fast. I pick her up and open the door to her room. Her small device is blaring music,

_Death surrounds, my heartbeat's slowing down. I won't take this world's abuse, I won't give up, I refuse…_

"How ironic," I mutter quietly, setting her down on her bed. I pick up the roll of bandage and extend it out. By the time I wrap her arm enough to slow the bleeding, there is no more bandage left. So be it. She can die very easily if she loses any more.

She groans and shudders slightly, squeezing her eyes shut and gripping my right hand tightly. I awkwardly roll my shoulders, but allowed her to do it. She must be in an immense amount of pain. Plus, if Veil walks in, it will give me an excuse of being here. I need to, anyways. I can't stand waiting down the hall, completely unaware of how she is doing. I will stay here until Veil returns, however long that takes.

Only now I realize that the upper half of my body is covered in Zada's blood. I take a deep breath. The scent drives me mad. I take a step closer and lean down, shifting her shoulder accidentally and resulting in a tighter grip around my hand.

"Brother." I hear Strife's voice.

I turn to face him, though still keep my hand in Zada's. "I'm not going to hurt her."

"If Veil sees you, she's going to…" I raise my eyebrows behind my mask and what he will say. He doesn't finish his sentence. "Death, I know you didn't mean for this to happen-"

"They're prisoners! Does it matter if they get harmed?!"

He shrugs, "I think it does to you." And he exits the room.

I look down at the unconscious girl. Her face is twisted into a look of pain. I sigh and pry her fingers away from mine, stepping out of the room as well. I reluctantly walk down the hallway, and behind me I hear Veil and Strife.

"I apologize for my brother's actions." He says, most likely to Veil. "I will help you as much as I can; we must keep Zada alive. No matter what it takes."

"I know…" She mutters absently. "I know. I need her alive."

Strife chuckles, "Don't fret. All we must do is keep Death occupied. He hasn't gone this long without taking one's life in eons; that's mostly why, I presume."

"Yes." I can sense the worry in her voice.

"…Veil?" he asks as I just reach the doorway. I open the door and walk in, though wait to close it. I look over to my brother and the prisoner. Strife runs his hand through her hair and leans downward. I'm actually surprised- though I know I shouldn't be- when he kisses her.

Silently, I close the door and lean against it. Without any denial in my mind, I feel worried for the girl. Her arm doesn't look very good, and it's my fault. Of course now, I won't be able to apologize to her face. Not for the next few weeks, anyway. Despite my impatience, I make a mental promise to myself not to see her until then.

And there is one reason why it's so difficult. I realized it when Zada shoved me away. Knowing this is driving me mad.

This will _not _be easy.

Xxxxxxxx

**Veil**

Strife follows me into Peach's room. Death wrapped her wound, and I am grateful for that. Though I still think he's a _bastard _for doing this! Why didn't they kill the both of us instead of going to the extent of kidnapping us? Then I wouldn't have the fear that the Charred Council would do anything to us. I don't know what they have planned.

When I'm not paying attention, Strife leaves my side and walks over to Peach. He puts two of his fingers to the side of her neck, probably to check for a pulse. "She's fine. For now." He says. Hearing that, 'for now' makes me worry. He sighs and turns to me. He locks his arms around my waist. It catches me off guard, and I try to pull away. As I expect, he won't let me go. Strife presses his lips to the side of my neck. Immediately, I shove him away, which takes every ounce of my strength.

"What are you doing?" I ask, my nervousness getting the best of me.

"…I apologize." He mutters, though still grinning evilly. He won't make eye contact, but I force him to. I look at him, just trying to figure out why. He and his brother came to kidnap us. Now this? Of anything! It's more likely that one of Redemption's bullets would pierce my brain before something like this.

Yet, here he is. In my time of deep thought, I hadn't noticed he already returned to my neck. Just like every other time in my life when anything out of the ordinary happens, I freeze and silently panic. I can't even begin to know what to do. I tense, and Strife notices immediately. He trails his lips from my neck until they meet mine. I awkwardly try and return the kiss, but in all reality, I can't without thinking that something is going to happen. Reluctantly, despite how much I don't want to… I pull away and storm off, locking my room door behind me.

I begin to pace. What am I doing? This is too weird. It has to stop. I just has to-

His arms are back around my waist. I barely manage not to spin around ad punch him for scaring me like that, both intentional and non. Slowly, he turns me around so I and face him. "You've never taken into consideration that a _Horseman _of the _Apocalypse _just might know how to pick a lock, have you?"

When I don't reply, he turns away for a moment to shut the door. The second I hear that _click, _I panic. I can't take it, I feel restrained, and uncomfortable, and I just can't. My stomach begins to churn. "No, no, no, _no._ Strife, stop. I-I can't-"

I'm cut off by his chuckle, and that calms me down a little. Not enough, though. I clench my jaw and take a step back. My younger self would have murdered me from doing this, but at least I have some common sense. Strife pauses, and I start to feel bad. I shouldn't though. "You're right," He says with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'd rather do something different."

I blink in a few times in surprise. "Such as?"

"Such _as_ getting to know you better."

My heart drops. "No."

He smirks and gently presses my back against the wall, letting the both of us sit down against it. "Why not?" He asks quietly. I can't help but smile at my idol. This makes him a bit more confident. He moves his lips closer to mine.

No… I don't want to cave in… I can't do it. But then I want to more than anything…

Xxxxxxxx

I wake to a low scream in pain, and the source is unmistakable. I immediately stand from where I'm lying on the floor next to Strife. In a state of panic, I grab a blanket from the floor and wrap it around me, bolting out the door. Tears are rolling down Zada's face as she digs her fingers into her palms in pain. She looks up at me, and I feel as if I can't do a damn thing.

"I'm sorry…" I say, and she reaches over and grabs my wrist. As her grip gets tighter, it reminds me of when she did that last Halloween when she saw five people dressed as the Grim Reaper sitting in front of a house. I have to hold back a laugh from thinking about it. Quickly, I grab the bottle of Ibuprofen. There is only one left, of course. "There's only one, Zada."

"I'll take it!" She chokes out. "Anything, just make it stop…!"

"Alright," I say with an apologetic smile, putting it in her hand. Before I can even think to get her water, she swallows it without any at all. I stand there for about ten minutes, letting her take the pain out on my arm, and when the drugs begin kicking in, she lets go. Thank goodness that the worst is over.

"W…why…"

"What's the matter?" I ask as I sit down next to her.

"Your neck…" I don't know what she means until I put my hand to my throat.

x-

**Zada**

What I hadn't realized before is that she's covered in bruises and bite marks, at least from where I can see. It concerns me more than anything, and I ignore the pain to ask what happened. "Where did they come from?" I ask slowly.

Her face drains of color. "Um..."

That's when I get worried. "Who did that?"

I hear a loud clear of someone's throat from her room. The voice obviously belongs to Strife. Why is he in there?! "Well, funny thing-"

"Oh my god,_ VEIL!"_ I whisper in a panic.

"Calm down."

"I CAN'T CALM DOWN!" Now I start laughing, though it's slurred from the Ibuprofen and sounds like I've been drinking. She giggles quietly, though it's obviously faked. When I calm down, I say, "Thanks… you can return to… whatever now."

"Shut up." She sneers quietly, making me laugh again.

"I'm just concerned! If he injures you like that further-"

She stands up. "I don't want to know, Zada. Goodnight. Try and get some sleep."

"Fine," I sigh, letting my head rest on the pillow again. Just before she closes the door to her room, I say one last thing: "You too."

Xxxxxxxx

**Death **

Strife doesn't come back until morning. This concerns me, only because I don't have the slightest idea as to where he is. When he walks in the door this morning, I immediately begin to question him. "Brother?" I ask, and he looks over to me. "Where have you been?"

"What, did you miss me?" He chuckles, making me roll my eyes.

"Child," I hiss, giving up. Honestly, if he was gone overnight, I don't think I want to know where he was. He walks into the other room, and as soon as he's out of range, I open the door and step out.

Veil is walking up to the door. She has her head down, constantly adjusting her hair so it would hide her neck. It doesn't work well enough, since I can see bruises across it with ease. Before I can ask her anything, she walks past me, unaware that I was standing there. I ignore it and keep walking. I reluctantly pass Zada's room without stopping, despite how much I want to check on her. Make sure she isn't dead. Though I figure that Veil would say something if so.

I clench my fist together and turn a corner. There is a group of humans a ways down the hallway, talking and laughing. I raise an eyebrow behind my mask as one of them realizes I'm here and walks towards me. He is about half my size with spiked brown hair and glasses. Acne is covering most of his face, and he is wearing almost all white.

"Michael, my man!" His words are slurred as he puts a hand on my shoulder. "Damn, nice costume! Why are you dressed up for New Years Eve?" I blink a few times, but then glance down to the small brown bottle in his hand. "Maybe just because we're docking tomorrow. I knew you were tall, but I don't remember you like this! And the suit, you look ripped!"

"…what in the nine hells-" Then I understand. He's mistaking me for someone else, a human perhaps. I nod my head. "Yes, Michael… right. I must be going."

I take a few steps back, but he follows me. "Hey, can I try on that mask?"

Alright,_ now_ he is going too far. I shove him away, and since I am Nephilim, it makes him tumble back into the group of people a few yards away. He drops the bottle, and it shatters against the concrete floor. The look of shock and confusion on his face is priceless, but I don't stay to savor it. I turn on my heel and walk off, still a bit confused.

I feel very contained here. It's driving me mad, along with everything and everyo_ne _else. The man said that we were docking tomorrow. Hopefully he was speaking truthfully, because if he isn't, I'm sure he will hear from me again.

**A/N: Hello! I apologize, it's been SO DAMN long since I've updated. XD I hope you like this chapter, and now that I'm finally remembering this, I WANT YOU GUYS TO SEND IN ANY SUGGESTIONS! If you have any, of course. I want to let you guys give me any ideas that you have. And yes, I made the guy mistake Death for Michael Wincott XD **


	9. Chapter 9

**Zada**

"Get up!" I hear the click of a rifle right next to my ear. I shoot to me feet, followed by a brief wave of pain from my shoulder. I see the barrel of a gun between my eyes.

At first I think It's Strife who is pointing the gun, but then know it can't be. He only carries Mercy and Redemption, at least to my knowledge. I raise my left hand in surrender, since my right one won't move with the bandage strapping it down.

"How did you get here?!" He jerked the gun so it was touching the bridge of my nose. "Answer me, or I will blow yer' brains out!" He has a slight accent of some sort, one that I'm not familiar with.

Before I can answer, I hear a gunshot ring out. For a moment, I think that it was the man, sinking a bullet into my brain, but I didn't register the pain. I open my eyes and see that I'm still standing. It is Strife who shot the man in the skull, and I am now covered in his blood.

I start to panic. As I wipe the blood off of my clothing, which only smears is further over my already disgusting clothes. The body collapses, forming a pool of the red liquid at my feet. "We must hurry," Strife insists, grabbing my left forearm. "We've been instructed to kill as few as possible. Where is V-"

I hear a loud gasp behind me. _Found Veil. _I look over my shoulder at the look of horror on her face as she stands in the doorway.

Strife wastes no time. "They're after us. Come! We must hurry!" He lets me go and takes Veil out the door. Of course, because I'm definitely not the one with the miserable gaping wound over here. I'll just walk out like I'm not critically injured. I grab my phone and shove it into my backpack, then sling it over my good shoulder and follow them as quickly as I can.

The pain in my arm is excruciating. I keep running no matter how bad it is. When I turn around to see if anyone is following, I only see Death. I make quick eye contact, but quickly face forward again and turn right, bolting up the stairs and onto the upper deck.

"You have nowhere to run!" A dark, male voice booms through an intercom. "Zada, come with us. Your kidnapper will be executed."

_You can't execute the executioner, idiots._ I think to myself, allowing a giggle at my stupidity. My smile fades, and as I look at the dozens of policemen looking at Death and I, pointing their guns at him, I want to stay. No second thoughts. I take a step beck, and then left, so I am now standing behind the Horseman.

"If they shoot you all at once, you're dead." I mutter quickly. "Even if you _are_ Nephilim."

"You honestly think that I don't know that?" He hisses back. "Listen carefully. When I kneel, you do the same. No questions asked."

"Fine," I spit back.

Before I can even comprehend it, Death is down with his fists presses against the wood. I hear several clicks of guns, but it's muffled by the boat's shaking.

Three ghouls break out of the ground all in unison. Immediately, they take out a good third of the policemen. I fall backward, but Death grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls my upright. Seconds later, I'm in front of him in the saddle. Despair is running as fast as I've ever seen him as he charges through the police. Death acts as a shield; his back is hunched over and he wraps his arms around me. He obviously takes many, _many _bullets, but hardly acknowledges them. The horse's hooves clack against the wooden deck. The freezing air feels good on my right shoulder, and it feels great to be breathing it again.

Through the fog of the early morning, I don't see that the front of the boat is approaching rapidly. "D-Death?! HEY!" He doesn't listen.

The horse jumps off.

For a moment, I'm sure that I'm falling to my death. But then I remember he's falling with me. His muscles tighten as he holds onto me tighter for the sole purpose of impacting the fall.

Though it still hurt like hell.

My neck snapped downward with so much force that I almost bit through my tongue. If it wasn't for Death, I would've died in the fall without another thought. Despair is now running through the shallow arctic waters. It's shallow! Since when have we docked? I don't know, but it's one less thing to worry about. As soon as we reach solid ground, I hear Veil.

_"Zada!" _She screams, and I look to my right. Her face is flooding with relief from seeing me alive. Strife directs his horse to run closer to us. The two brothers exchange words, but through the chaos and pain, I didn't give a damn about what they said.

In one swift movement, Despair takes a sharp left_, _almost throwing me out of the saddle. "Death! What is going on?!"

"Quiet!" He yells. "We must clear the area before the humans reach us."

I look back and see dozens more of police cars following us. "You're too late you idiot!"

He does the same thing, realizing the dilemma in his plan. "Damn it." From some kind of silent call, Dust lands on Despair's head, despite the speed we're travelling at. "Take her somewhere safe!" He orders the bird, stands up in the saddle, and jumps out. The horse speeds up. I try to bend down and wrap my arms around Despair's neck, but the bandage around my right shoulder wouldn't allow it. In a state of panic, I unwrap it as quickly as I can and cling to the massive horse, letting the bandage fly behind me.

It feels good not to be shackled down by it, despite the stinging. I look down at the wound and see that it's not bleeding. It has scabbed over, therefore making it painful to move it. Fine. I could handle the pain; I just didn't want to deal with the frustration of being held down by it.

The sounds of the sirens fade for the most part. Despair slows down in the middle of nowhere, though forces me to stay in the saddle whenever I try and get out. Eventually, I gave up and collapse in exhaustion. I'm freezing, for the snow has just picked up. I'm on the verge of falling asleep when something startled the horse and he took off running. I cling to the edge of the saddle, now wide awake and alert. "What on earth has gotten into you-" Death jumps onto the horse behind me, and I yell loudly, separating each word distinctively, "Why. Would. You. Do. That?!"

"To save you from the life you're living here," He growls. "Will you _stop _talking and let me _think?!"_

I spin my torso around and face him. I hear no sirens and see no visible people following us. "There isn't anyone to be running from!"

He brings the horse to a stop and looks around. I can't help but notice that he's avoiding all physical contact with me; it's obviously intentional because he is about an inch away from actually falling off of his own horse. I raise an eyebrow at him when he starts growling in his throat.

I lean away from him and ask, "Are you alright?" because the look in his eyes looks as if he's going to choke me.

He snaps out of his little trance and goes back to being himself. "Fine." He snaps. Without breaking eye contact, I climb out of the saddle and stick my hands in my pockets. After a while, I finally stop staring and look down, kicking at the snow.

"Zada!" I spin around when hearing Veil's voice. I am immediately almost tackled to the ground. "I-I didn't know what happened to you, and-"

"Alright, calm down." I laugh, patting her back. "It's fine. As long as I limit my movement for the next while, my shoulder will heal."

She sighs in relief and lets me go, walking back over to Strife and standing next to him. I let my hair fall over my face and continue staring at the ground. In the corner of my eye, I see Veil and Strife mount his horse.

"Brother, we might want to continue."

"Come." Death leans down and literally pulls me into the saddle. I guess he's just fine with making contact now. "It should be a few miles before we reach the next victim's home."

A wave of excitement, guilt, and worry comes over me. Who knows, this person could be a jerk, and unlike Veil and I. Plus, if so, we're taking him or her from their life to take to prison. Despair trots next to Strife's horse that I've neglected to learn the name of. Surprisingly, the temperature here in Antarctica is isn't too terrible. There is snow on the ground, but I don't feel like I'm going to freeze to death. I think I've just gotten used to it.

Death let's out an epic sigh in annoyance as he wraps his arms around my shoulders. He didn't do it to express any form of affection, just to keep my warm, since my sweatshirt is torn at the arm. He succeeds greatly. I relax my muscles and let his warmth envelop me. He awkwardly holds his hands together in front of my chest. My eyelids begin to droop. Before I know it, my head is resting on his chest as I slip into a restless sleep.

"Peach!" Veil shakes me awake. I sit up from my spot on Despair's back and jump down from the saddle. She points over to a small white house. "We're here."

Xxxxxxxx

**?**

_"Since the dawn of time, the armies of Heaven and Hell have waged an endless war. Drawn to the conflict of the Charred Council, an entity bound by ancient laws to preserve order and balance. It held that any great power, unchecked, threatened the very fabric of the universe."_

I sigh and listen to the introduction of the first Darksiders. I wish that it is all true, that the Horsemen that I know are real. Especially War. I've loved him as a character ever since I found out about the small franchise game. I smiled behind the controller that was pressed against my face. Just as I'm about to start playing, the television switches to a different channel.

"Hey!" I snarl at my mother who is holding the remote.

"Shut up," She says harshly. "I'm checking the news before I leave for work." I don't reply and look down at the controller. "You need to stop playing that damned video game too. Your obsession has gone too far. You need to do better in school; you're a junior, and you have all B's, and that's not good enough to get you to College…"

I just tune her out. It's the same every time and frankly I'm sick of hearing it. I look up at the television and listen to the anchorman speak. There is a picture of a cargo ship docked a few miles away on the coast. _"The kidnap of two senior students in northern England more than three weeks ago has been brought here. The two men who took the young girls apparently smuggled them onto a cargo ship and brought them here. One was seen critically injured. There is no new information on their current location. _

_"If you have any information please dial the number below," _the man says as a number shows up at the bottom of the screen. The screen changes to a sketch of the two men. I giggle at them, mostly because they look like Death and Strife from Darksiders. A _lot. _Too bad War isn't one of them.

"Raven!" My mother yells again to get my attention.

"What?" I ask politely.

She rolls her eyes and buries her face in her hands. "I can't deal with you right now, I really can't," She whines. "I'm going to work. I'm going to kick you out on the streets one of these days if you don't start carrying your weight around here."

She walks out the door without another word. I stare at the door for a long while before returning to my video game. As War runs through the streets, I hear glass break on the other side of the house. I ignore it and plug in my music. It is probably just my cat, anyway.

That's when I start to think. Maybe I should just leave now. Sure, I won't have War to keep me sane through this, but I think I could make it. My mother won't have to deal with me; I don't have any friends who would miss me. In a state of dejection, I walk into my room in the depths of my house's basement along with a small bag. I pack together all of my band shirts and sweatshirts for the freezing weather. I slip on my favorite one that read _Black Veil Brides _on the front and walked back up the stairs.

I don't turn to face the rest of my home; I just stare at the front door, asking myself what would lie ahead if I didn't go through with it and if I did. I sling the bag over my shoulder and hold it there for a long moment. "War, just kill me." I mutter under my breath. Seconds later, as if an answer to my plea, I feel cold metal crack against my skull, and everything fades into darkness as I hit the floor.

Xxxxxxxx

_"I swear, you and Death have the oddest tactic of kidnapping people."_

My head aches horribly. I groan in pain and sit up, not yet opening my eyes.

_"She's awake. Come on, Strife, go away for a moment. You're going to startle her."_

I hear footsteps, and they fade moments later. When I open my eyes, I see two older girls staring at me. The one on my right has blood red hair- obviously dyed, of course- black long sleeved shirt, and a black sweatshirt. The other one with black and blue hair is also wearing all black, but one of her sleeves is torn at the arm.

I'm a bit speechless at the moment. I'm not really scared, just confused. I look at the two of them, completely dumbfounded. "Hello," The girl with the red hair says awkwardly, breaking eye contact and sitting down next to me, as does the other.

"I apologize for our social awkwardness in advance," The one with blue hair mumbles. Both of them have heavy British accents, which I think is the coolest thing ever, but I say nothing. I don't really know what to say. I blink a few times and stand up, and the two girls watch me as I do so. In front of me, I see two men in a heated conversation. They're not too far away, but I still can't hear them.

I look closer, taking a few steps forward. _Now _they look familiar. Slowly, I approach them. "Hey. You don't want to do that-"

"Is that who I think it is?" I ask quietly, turning to face them afterwards.

They nod, and the girl with red hair says, "I'm sorry. It wasn't our decision…"

"..They're taking me too?"

No answer.

As they both stare at the ground awkwardly, I start to smile. My mother won't have to deal with me; I won't have to go to college like she was going to force me to do… I can leave her. Before I know what I'm doing, I throw my arms around the two strangers and hug them in complete joy.

"T-thank you, thank you, _thank you!_" I repeat, and they both hug me back. "I can get _out _of here…"

They both laugh. "At least we don't have to be that awkward." One of them says.

I let them go. "What are your names?"

"I'm Veil," The red-haired girl says, smiling and pointing to the other one. "And that's Zada. What about you?"

"Raven," I reply blankly, looking down at Zada's arm. Underneath the tear of her sweatshirt, there is a large gash that ranges from the top of her neck to her wrist. "What happened?"

Her jaw tightens and she points to Death. "H…he kind of…"

"Oh." I get the message. I feel slightly bad for her, but it looks like it's healing, which is good.

"Come on. Death and Strife aren't too bad when you get to know them. But Strife is better,"

"Death's better," Zada whispers.

"Are you serious? He almost killed you, and you're _still _not on my side?!"

"Don't deny it, Veil, Death's better than Clint Eastwood over there."

Both of them burst into laughter, and I can't help but laugh myself. "Does this always go on?" I ask.

"Yes." Zada replies.

"You might want to get used to it; you're stuck with us for the next year."

"Year?" I ask. "Where are they taking us?"

"To the Charred Council." I look up and see Death approaching us. He looks _exactly _like the character from Darksiders II. I can feel my face coloring red. "You three, alone with two others, have angered them, for the game you play and _obviously _obsess over has given you information on things you shouldn't know."

I just stare at him with eyes wide. Before I even know what I'm saying, I start mumbling, "Y-your voice…"

"I know, right?" Strife's sarcastic nature shows the second he starts speaking. He puts a hand over his heart and sighs like a teenage girl. I'm starting to either think he's mocking Veil and Zada, or he's just losing his mind. Veil collapses in laugher, and when I look over to Zada, I can see how hard she's trying to hold it back. I bury my face in my hands and laugh.

"Are we going to carry this out, or can we leave?" Death asks impatiently. "The next prisoner is on the other side of the continent, and at the rate we're travelling, it will take more than a year."

I take one look at the house that I've grown up in since birth and pull my bag up over my shoulder. With a smile, I start walking with the rest of them.

And I don't look back.

**A/N: Hello! I apologize for such a long update! I'm working on another story trilogy right now, because I'm INSANELY exited to finish it! :D If you'd like to read my VERY FIRST FANFIC... then the three of them are in my profile :D Yes, they're long and a bit boring, but I'm quite proud of 'em :D Alright, side note over. I hope you like this chapter! and yes, if any of you have noticed, I've changed the number of prisoners to six. Death and Strife are just unaware of it for the time being, but in a few chapters they will be informed, and I know a few people will be happy. By the way, if you think I'm crazy right now... I always call Strife Clint Eastwood. XD**

(Sorry guys! I had to do a little reupdate. I accidentally used the wrong name for the next character! Daire in real life is going to kill be if she sees, for she likes Death XD It is SUPPOSED to be Raven. I'm sorry for any confusions! :D)


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